We, at Laughlin Associates, enjoy wonderful partnerships with some of America’s most influential thought leaders. No one fills the bill as a motivational thought leading pioneer better than our partner and friend Brian Tracy.

Summary: Roni Deutch Tax Centers have exclusively added Laughlin Associates’ entity formation and corporate record book keeping services to their in store product line. The Laughlin team recently attended the company’s Annual Meeting to strategize with executives and franchisees.  Both companies offer tax and business solutions to small business owners.

Laughlin Associates’ (LAI) executive team recently joined Ms. Roni Deutch and more than 200 Roni Deutch Tax Center (RDTC) executives, franchisees and partners at the organization’s 3^rd annual convention in Reno, Nevada. The LAI team was invited to attend the 3-day event to educate RDTC franchisees on the Laughlin product line; entity formation and record book management.  RDTC has chosen to add the Laughlin line of products, in an exclusive deal, to its cadre of small business services.

Roni Deutch Tax Center, Founder and President, Roni Deutch offers, “The mission of Roni Deutch Tax Centers is to become the number one tax, business and financial services provider to the small business person in the U.S., and provide a varied range of business tools.  We plan to be a hub for small business owners within their local community.  Laughlin’s products are the perfect addition because of their industry knowledge, professionalism and superior service.”  Roni Deutch Tax Center is ranked #4 on Franchise Times list of “the Fast 55,” a listing of the fastest growing franchises less than 5 years old.

(LAI) has been the leader in the incorporation and record book keeping business for nearly 40 years and offers a portfolio of services and education to its business-owner clients. They combine “high-touch” with decades of experience, top advisors and educators along with high-tech communications.

LAI CEO Aaron Young, Vice President of Sales and Marketing Meghan Cole and Director of Business Development Troy Parker met with Ms. Deutch on strategies to educate and meet the needs of small business owners.  Scott Burnett, LAI Director of Education gave a presentation on the need for small business owners to focus on their corporate record books and remain in compliance with IRS statutes. “As entrepreneurs, it’s imperative to your survival to protect the corporate veil.  Your personal assets and bottom line depend on it”, states Burnett.

Aaron Young concludes, “It was exciting to meet these entrepreneurial-minded professionals who were enthusiastic to embrace additional services beyond tax preparation.  Both RDTC and Laughlin’s focus is on the small business owners’ needs.  We look forward to attending many more RDTC meetings in the coming years.”

As part of my duties for Laughlin Associates, I travel around the country speaking to business owners about the importance of corporate or LLC compliance. Once one of these companies is formed the owners have ongoing responsibilities to document the decisions that these companies make. I try to teach that to people.

But one person will ask the question that the entire room is interested in learning: How can I make my business more successful and make more money? They usually follow it up with discussions about websites, blogs, or marketing. It seems that the perception is the only way to be more successful in business is to get more clients. That is logical, more clients equals more money. I get it. However, your business could be more successful without gaining another new client. What I try to tell them is that there is wealth hidden in your business that you don’t realize.

A recent study conducted by the federal government estimates that the average business owner over pays their taxes. Not by a little, but by a whopping $11,600 per year. Think about that. What could you have done with an extra $11,600?  How many additional clients would you have had to get to “net” that extra income? So why do we over pay? It’s simple. We don’t know the rules.

Taxes are such an interesting topic to hear from business owners. They seem to fear it. People will tell me the tax code is too complicated to learn, or that their CPA takes care of the taxes for the business. The responses seem to indicate an implied waiver of the reasonability, or a genuine fear of the topic itself. But no matter what you do in your business, you will always be more successful with just a little bit of tax education.

Now if I suggested to you that you need to learn the entire tax code that would be intimidating. But a little knowledge goes a long way here. All business owners have basic deductions that are available to them. This is true regardless of your business structure. They are: Entertainment, Travel, Gifting, Home Office, and Vehicle. Many of us take these deductions now. However, when I ask people about these rules I hear a lot of different and conflicting stories. As a result, how could a business owner be confident in claiming a deduction if they didn’t know the rules? Further, how assertive could you be if you didn’t know the particulars of the rules? Therefore, what happens next is deductions don’t get claimed and overpayment of taxes is the end result. Boy that fear can be crippling!

So how do you stop this? You decide that you can learn it! The tax code is not as complicated as people think. This is especially true in regards to the deductions we discussed above. As part of our paper work program we offer clients the tools and education to learn these deductions and many more. So if you have an opportunity to get involved with our compliance service I would strongly recommend it because this is something that we offer those clients. Also I can suggest a couple of publications that might assist. Sandy Botkin, CPA puts out an excellent series of books and CD’s on business taxes that are great. And of course, you can also log onto the IRS website and download their publications.

I learned an expression some time ago that I think is quite fitting here. Someone once told me that the definition of fear is: indecision plus doubt equals fear. I like that. If you don’t know what the IRS is expecting from you that can create indecision. Claiming a deduction your not sure about is creating doubt, so you don’t claim it. So of course you have fear. But remember F.E.A.R. is nothing more than False Evidence Appearing Real.

It is not too complicated, and it is well worth the investment. Remember you can conquer anything you put your mind too. I know you can do it!

Scott Burnett is a highly acclaimed corporate trainer and Laughlin Associates’ Director of Education.  He will be speaking at these locations and at our July Seminar in Lake Tahoe.

Scott Miller is the CEO and Chairman of the Zyman Group. He may be the most sought after marketing consultant in this country.  His clients include the Chairmen and Presidents of companies like Coca-Cola, Google, Microsoft, Cox Broadcasting, and Disney.  He has been a good friend and confidant for the past 12 years to one of my partners, football great Fran Tarkenton. Fran recently sent me the following article from Scott Miller and I thought it would be a good thing to share with all of you. I hope you are as inspired by the message as I am. - AY

One thing for sure in this otherwise uncertain environment, every business leader globally faces the same challenge: lots more problems and lots less time to solve them. There is far less time to analyze, decide, act and react.

Politics moves fast because it must. In its 24X7 world, no single hour is unimportant. Business has traditionally moved slowly because it could. No more. In business today, just as in politics and warfare, speed wins; not panic or frenetic activity, but deliberate, all-ahead-full speed.

Individuals must move fast; organizations must move fast. Building an organization, team or project for speed is something we teach and preach—something we’ve done again and again.

Here are the ten basics of getting more mph out of your own group or any project you’re planning:

1. Define Success First. As the late Senator Lloyd Bentsen once said, “If you don’t know where you’re going, the last thing you want to do is step on the gas.” To reach success, you must define your destination in advance. You must define the win you’re going after. Define clearly what success will mean to you and your group. Understand what it will be objectively and emotionally. Understand what it will mean to every constituent group, inside and outside the organization. Set expectations accordingly. This implies two things: first, have a very clearly articulated goal; second, have a “by when”/Election Day focus on when you must reach this destination. It doesn’t make a difference if this is a crisis or a recurring project—success can’t be achieved if it’s not clearly defined in advance.

2. Establish “Do the Doable” Benchmarks. To build momentum on the road ahead establish benchmark goals along the way to your ultimate destination. Set them in order of difficulty—begin with the fruit on the ground, then the low hanging fruit and so on. Go for first downs on the way to touchdowns. Get some wins and build more confidence and more speed.

3. Flat Is Fast. The fastest moving big corporation in the world is News Corp. That’s a result of three things: first, Rupert Murdoch is not afraid to make a decision—even a “bet the company” decision when it’s important enough; second, Murdoch knows and trusts his executives—he never fears delegating big decisions; third, Murdoch organizes decision-making meetings like the “City Desk” of a newspaper—“what’s happening and who’s going to cover it?” The organization of the best companies, large or small, is as flat as it can be and one look at their executive offices will show that—take a visit to Mars, Inc.’s McLean, VA headquarters or the fantastic new HQ for Bloomberg in NYC. They emphasize line of sight to all key people, openness, egalitarian feel and constant accessibility. Organize and design your company for speed. To adopt Murdoch’s decision-making model for yourself, always know what’s important and what’s not. Be ready to move quickly toward the former when it’s available and move quickly away from the latter every day and in everything you do.

4. Avoid Analysis Paralysis. If you wait for 100% of the data, you’ll miss 80% of the opportunity. Insight catatonia can result from too much information that doesn’t bring you an inch closer to making decisions. Insist on the Cliff Notes version of past market/target analysis … but then quickly move to point #5.

5. Look Forward, Not Backwards. Analyzing market information in the rearview mirror today is very dangerous—we are experiencing unprecedented forces and changes in every kind of market, from global to niche. What was is not nearly as important to you as what will be. So emphasize research that tests potential scenarios and hypotheses—in developing these hypotheses, be willing to swing for the fences with truly insurgent ideas that will change the market dialogue.

6. Narrow Your Targets. We preach the political principle: “Move the movable.” That means focusing only on the votes you need to deliver the win. Narrow your targets internally and externally. Don’t waste time and effort on immovable attitudes: write off the Hard Opposition and Soft Opposition. Concentrate on the Soft Support and Hard Support (and recognize that the momentum from moving the Soft Support to greater loyalty is the most compelling medium for moving the masses of the Undecided). Identify the smallest target that will deliver the biggest return. That’s the fastest way to the win.

7. Connect Strategy and Action. Nothing eats time and money like the elegant strategy in the binder on the book shelf behind your desk … the strategy that never gets to the marketplace because it’s a detached set of analyses and suggestions. Whether from internal groups or external suppliers, don’t ever settle for “strategic recommendations” without an accompanying list of “immediate actions.” Tear down the silos and integrate all marketing and strategic communications. Get boots on the ground in a hurry.

8. Play Offense. The fastest and best strategy is one by which you are dictating the market’s changes—in which you control the market dialogue. You do that, like chess masters, by planning two or three moves ahead, and being prepared to take the battle to the competition. Think, plan and act like an insurgent, not an incumbent—and never assume the defensive/reactive position; play to win every day.

9. Reward Action. The best football or basketball coaches have a lot more patience for penalties that are “crimes of commission” rather than “crimes of omission.” They relish aggressiveness, even when it’s an error. Establish a reward system that puts the emphasis on proactive accomplishment. Make heroes of your people or suppliers who over-deliver and beat the deadlines. Great football teams “swarm tackle;” everybody converges on the ball. That’s the kind of work ethic you want from every individual in your organization; everybody up and down the value chain converges on the opportunity.

10. Strategy is Boss. Bureaucracy and corporate politics create a sea of peanut butter to navigate in order to get anything done. Avoid it by developing an insurgent strategy to achieve your destination. Until events force a change of direction, enforce a simple rule: “strategy is boss.” The core strategy should drive all decisions. You don’t have to wait for fifteen review sessions to vet with everybody up the corporate ladder. Allow for creativity and personal initiative as long as the decision is on strategy. Make something happen.

Be a blur in your marketplace. Control the competitive dialogue with change and surprise and never let go of that advantage. Play to win. This is no longer an option, but a necessity: be quick or be dead.  - Scott Miller